World Cup Roundup: Drogba plays in Ivory Coast’s tie

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa — Two of the planet’s most dangerous strikers couldn’t produce a single goal.

Portugal and Ivory Coast played to a 0-0 tie Tuesday in their World Cup opener, with Cristiano Ronaldo and — later — Didier Drogba each unable to break through.

Ronaldo rattled a 30-yard strike off the left post in the 11th minute for Portugal, but Ivory Coast otherwise created the better opportunities.

“It was a tight game, not many occasions to score,” Ivory Coast coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said. “I thought if any team was going to win, it was we. We created some more chances than they did. I am very, very happy with the performance. If you think about discipline and organization, I think we were organized for all 90 minutes.”

Drogba came on as a 66th-minute substitute for fellow Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou after FIFA cleared him to play with a cast on his right arm, which he broke in a warmup match against Japan on June 4.

He was ruled eligible shortly before kickoff at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, and his entrance was greeted by huge cheers, with vuvuzelas drowning out the drums of Ivorian fans for the first time in the match.

“I spoke to him after training yesterday evening and he said he preferred to be on the bench,” Eriksson said. “He said ‘Boss, if you need me, I am there.’ I hoped we would not need him, but we wanted to win the game, so we did what we did.”

Ivory Coast had another injury problem late in the match when Kolo Toure went down clutching his leg and signaled to the bench for help.

The central defender was examined behind the goal line for a couple of minutes and hobbled back into action, but needed repeated treatment to his left knee with just minutes left.

Ronaldo’s best scoring chance came with a long, swerving shot that evaded goalkeeper Boubacar Barry but bounced off the left post.

Ronaldo also tapped in from close range in the 72nd minute, but the referee already had blown his whistle for offside.

Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz blamed his team’s failure to create better chances on the Ivory Coast defense. “The game was a just result given the chances Portugal had in the first half and Ivory Coast had in terms of the counter-attack,” he said.

Queiroz also suggested FIFA may have bent its eligibility rules for Drogba because of the “cultural significance” of a player hugely popular in Africa taking the field.

“The FIFA delegates decided that the referee’s decision is final,” Queiroz said. “This was a bit odd as far as we were concerned because there are rules and regulations that say, for example, that players cannot play with a string bracelet or a plaster.

“I would like to know that all the rules are the same for everybody.”

In Tuesday’s other games:

New Zealand 1, Slovakia 1

RUSTENBURG, South Africa — Winston Reid scored in second-half injury time, lifting New Zealand to a draw with Slovakia.

Robert Vittek scored early in the second half, giving Slovakia the lead in the Group F contest. But Reid got behind the defense to take a long cross from Shane Smeltz and tie the game.

The Kiwis are ranked 78th in the world, 44 spots above Slovakia, which is in its first World Cup as an independent nation.

Slovakia’s goal came in the 50th minute when Stanislav Sestak crossed from the right side. Reid missed his defensive header, allowing Vittek to score from close range at the far post.

Vittek nearly doubled the lead in the 69th minute on a counterattack, but goalkeeper Mark Paston was quick off his line and made the save.

All four teams have one point in Group F. Italy and Paraguay drew 1-1 Monday.

Reid’s goal gave New Zealand its first point at a World Cup after going winless in its 1982 debut.

Brazil 2, North Korea 1

JOHANNESBURG — Maicon and Elano scored a goal apiece in the second half and Brazil broke through a solid North Korea defense to win its first 2010 World Cup match on a frigid night.

Brazil escaped with a victory in the Group G match after struggling to get past the defensive setup of the North Koreans, who are making their first World Cup appearance in 44 years and arrived as the tournament’s lowest-ranked team.

Maicon put Brazil ahead in the 55th minute after a through ball from midfielder Elano, making a run on the right side and firing into the far corner from a tight angle as North Korea goalkeeper Ri Myong Guk went for the cross.

Elano then added to the lead in the 72nd after a well-timed pass from Robinho, finding the net with a one-timer from inside the penalty area. Ji Yun Nam scored for North Korea in the 89th minute in 34-degree temperatures with a wind-chill of 24.